The present invention relates generally to the automotive repair services and more particularly to a network based automotive service monitoring system.
Automotive repairs can tend to be some of the most troubling and schedule disturbing events that a person in today""s society must endure. People need to find a mechanic they can trust. They must try to find a price that is acceptable for the work to be performed. They must arrange to have their vehicle either taken to the service facility or must arrange time out of their day to take the vehicle to the service provider themselves.
No matter how much advance planning is involved, automotive repairs can be hassle. Additionally, once a person has a scheduled repair, the person may have to be concerned with the work quality being performed on the vehicle. Many consumer would ideally like to able to watch their repair work as it is ongoing, to assure honesty and timeliness. Moreover, many people would like to have their repairs performed on the same day or overnight.
Because scheduling has become a hassle for both automotive repair facilities and customers, people are seeking easier methods of scheduling automotive repairs. Additionally, because the labor cost involved in automotive repairs tend to be high, consumers are scrutinizing more and more the labor being performed. Therefore, a need has arisen for more efficient scheduling and quality control within the automotive repair industry.
The present invention provides for a network based automotive service monitoring system. The network based monitoring system may include one or more service bays at a service facility, each service bay having a service event. The system may also include one or more video transmission devices, the video transmission devices being positioned within one or more service bays to allow viewing of the service event. Additionally, the system may include one or more user computers operated by the one or more users. The system may further include one or more network servers, the network servers in communication with the one or more user computers, the network server being configured to relay video transmissions of the service event from the one or more video transmission devices to the one or more user computers via a communications network.
The present invention may also provide for a network based automotive service monitoring system having one or more video transmission devices, the video transmission devices being positioned within one or more service bays to allow viewing of the service event. The system may include one or more user computers operated by the one or more users and one or more network servers, the network servers in communication with the one or more user computers, the network server being configured to relay video transmissions of the service event from the one or more video transmission devices to the one or more user computers via a communications network.
The present invention may further include a method of monitoring automotive service via a communication network. The method may include the steps of associating a service event with a user, receiving from the user to view the service event, activating a video transmission device positioned to monitor the service event, and transmitting video transmissions from the video transmission device to the user via the communications network.
Additionally, the present invention may include a computer program to monitor automotive service via a communication network. The computer program may include a code segment to associate a service event with a user. The computer program may also include a code segment to receive a request from the user to view the service event. The computer program may further include a code segment to activate a video transmission device positioned to monitor the service event. The computer program may include a code segment to transmit video transmissions from the video transmission device to the user via the communications network.